Pages

Yes, they can be meddlesome, and yes, they can choose unwisely from time to time. But what an interesting role. I'm constantly fascinated.

And I'd long wanted to write a story about a devilishly handsome matchmaker. Monty Overbove is fulfilling that for me, now.

But who matches the matchmaker? The matchees, of course. :) Love me some full circle.

What's your opinion on the topic, in real life? We all like "Emma" and the matchmakery classics, I'm guessing. But can it work in our everyday world?

(The first people I ever played matchmaker to are still together, years and years and years later. I'm looking for my next success, but haven't found it yet. Perhaps that's one reason I've turned to Wilfair to help me meet that goal, at least fictionally.)

14
comments:

I think it can work, if the matchmaker knows both matchees pretty well. The trick, if the matchees don't know each other, is to convince them to BE matched. Because then it's basically a blind date and people seem pretty averse to those, generally speaking.

Monty could obviously tell that Fair and Gomery were interested and needed to be nudged. If I knew two people like that, I would nudge. Definitely.

I think it's funny you mention Emma, because almost all her attempts at matchmaking fail miserably/hilariously! Not exactly a testament to the power of matchmaking. :) I think there's a difference between nudging two people who obviously like each other but need a little help to get it out in the open, and flat-out matchmaking. Monty practices the former, Emma the latter.

I am an Emma when it comes to matchmaking. It never ends well and we've reached a point where I will actively discourage my friends from getting together because of I thi k they'd make a cute couple I am sure that things will end horribly if entertainingly. I blame this on people being different on a date then they are with their friends :)

My husband and I met over the internet so our first date was very blind date-ish. I was living in Scottsdale, AZ but went up to Vegas to visit my cousin.

While I was there she was chatting with a friend online. She got up to use the bathroom, I was bored so I sat down and started chatting. He seemed cool so I gave him my screenname and we started chatting every day. It was way back in the day before Skype so we exchanged pictures via snail mail.

8 months later I finally made it back to Vegas with some friends. We hit it off instantly. Did the long distance thing for 3 years before I graduated college and moved to Vegas. This summer we'll celebrate our 10th anniversary. Crazy how things turn out sometimes...

My first meeting with my husband was semiblinddateish. I was living in AZ at the time and he was in Vegas. I was visiting my cousin in Vegas and she was chatting with him on the computer. She got upnto use the bathroom and I was bored so I sat down and started chatting with him.

I wasn't able to meet up with him that trip, it was another 8 months before I made it back to Vegas. This was way back before Skype and lots of online photosharing so we exchanged photos through snail mail. We chatted pretty much every day.

I was crazy nervous when we finally met face to face. We both brought friends with us and had our first date down on Fremont Street. Snuck away from our friends where we had our (and my!) first kiss.

We've had lots of ups and downs but we'll celebrate the 15th anniversary of the day we met in March and our 10th wedding anniversary in July. All because of my cousin's bladder...

I have done a fair amount of matchmaking, because I am meddlesome and also generally much better at solving other peoples love dilemmas than my own.

I avoid setting people up on blind dates though and instead invite them to parties where I can introduce them and nudge them together. It's still fairly awkward for them since subtlety is not my strong suit, but less scary than a blind date, plus it means I get to be nosy and see how it's going!

That is a brilliant plan. I think a party is the way to go. More people, more hubbub, more things going on, and less of a spotlight on the two people in question.

For whatever reason I went on the last two blind dates I set up at the pleading of the people I was intent on matching. I know, you're like, "Alysia, really? BAD idea." It's just that I thought that maybe I could help steer conversation and point out all of the good qualities in both people.

Awkward.

Neither match took. So for now I stick to fictional couples, who must behave exactly as I want them to (mostly).

Ha before I read the second half of your sentence "Alysia, really!?" was pretty much what I was thinking! Mostly because I had an experience that was awkward for exactly opposite reasons. I once went for dinner with two friends of mine who were both only in town for one night, but who had never met before. They ended up getting on so well that I felt like an intruder on their first date and had to invent a reason to go home early to leave the two of them alone. So even though my accidental matchmaking was super successful, still a very weird way to spend an evening.

I would have loved to have been a wee gnat upon your shoulder during all of that! Crikey. What a fascinating, uncomfortable evening that must have been.

Still, though, it was good that it was positive overall.

Here's a painful look back at how the first blind date I chaperoned went (I'm almost being 100% serious).

Alysia: "So, cute lady friend I know, this handsome gentleman sitting right here and you have some wonderful things in common."(silence cricket cricket silence)Alysia (coughing): "For example. Uh. Uh. You both. You both own phones. Have you always used phones? Do you like to dial phones? Do you sometimes hang up when you're through with a phone conversation?"Man and Woman: "Yes."Alysia: "That is AMAZING! I'm SO happy we're getting together today! This was obviously meant to be! The two of you, phone owners! What are the chances?"

I'm barely exaggerating here.

(Well, a little, but time has not dulled this lunch date for me yet. My poor friends.)

Haha! Oh wow that sounds terrible. I always kind of panic a bit when I try to introduce people, even when I know they have loads in common.I want to do the whole suave Bridget Jones interesting tidbits introductions thing, but in reality it's probably closer to your example. I just sort of shout topics at them that they might have in common until they find something to talk about. I figure worst case scenario they can at least bond over discussing my strange behaviour and the awkward situation I have placed them in.

Wilfair

Available Now

Redwoodian: Wilfair Book 2

Available Now

Stay Awhile: Wilfair Book 3

Available Now

Fairwil: Wilfair Book 4

Available Now!

Follow Wilfair by Email

Hi.

Bio

Alysia adores California and she adores writing about it for NBC. She also likes writing about magical, made-up hotels, which she does in the Wilfair books. Fact: Alysia is a hotel girl who married a motel boy. Loves: cheese, fog, movies, and listing the things she loves.

Thank You

The Official Carly, Bess & Erika Widget

I love chatting with readers. The heavy and helpful commentating of the fab Bess, Carly, and Erika cheered me during the early days of this blog. So here's their Official Widget of Thanks! (Oh, you might know Bess and her byoo-ti-ful photography from this post.)